


Necessary Truths

by wrathwake



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Drag Queens, Enemies to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Rivalry, Study Group, Summer Romance, jaewoo - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2020-08-19 01:28:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20201488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wrathwake/pseuds/wrathwake
Summary: Jaehyun was looking forward to a typically boring summer, and even more boring as he is taking a summer course. But things might get interesting in his philosophy class when Jungwoo catches his eye.





	1. Arete

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!! I will try to update this weekly! I'm aiming for every Sunday. 
> 
> I am no expert on philosophy, I literally took one class this summer and was bored and planned out this fic instead. So please enjoy!!
> 
> For my two closest amigos, Diana and Andrea, I hope y'all like it.

Jaehyun steps out of his car and into the oppressive heat, an unforgiving reminder that this marks the first day of a long two months of summer school. It was something he was forced into doing, he adds mentally as he walks up the steps from the student parking lot. Philosophy 101 is probably one of the easier humanities classes, and yet he had put it off until his final year in college. So, instead of spending hundreds on credits for the same course at his overseas university, he decided to save money and enroll at his hometown community college.

Jaehyun had been on track to graduate a semester early and this one class was the only thing between him and his sweet, sweet Bachelor’s degree. And then he could figure out what the fuck to do with an art history degree. 

But not right now.

Right now, he has to find the correct building.

After vaguely tracing the campus map, he finds the science and humanities center with five minutes to spare. The perfect amount of time to pick a seat where he would interact with the least amount of people. Jaehyun was not here to socialize, and god forbid they do any sort of group work. If there was anything he hated more than collaborative assignments, it’s when he’s paired with people he did not trust or know their work ethic history. Jaehyun is first and foremost an A student, and he wanted to keep it that way. If anyone messed with this perfect GPA, he would cut a bitch.

Entering through the double glass doors, the blast of the air conditioning sends a chill down his spine. The dingy walls lining the hallway are bare, save for the scattered bulletin boards with half ripped flyers, and Jaehyun rounds the corner to find the correct room. It’s a typical lecture hall, with rows of elevated seats in a half-circle, a table and podium at the front of the room. 

There are only about six students present, all of them avoiding to sit within the first five rows and scattered apart. Jaehyun walks up the steps and sits on the left side in an aisle seat. Jaehyun scrolls through his messages, mostly from Yuta and Mark.

Yuta is his best friend from high school, and Mark is a second year music major from Jaehyun’s university. Jaehyun and Yuta were trying to plan to meet up once Yuta comes back to Korea the following week, and Mark just sent him the third youtube video of the day. Another Marvel crack video. Jaehyun marks it to watch later and sends back laughing emojis.

The lecture room door opens again, and a throng of students enter, tailed by the professor. He’s a typical humanities professor; balding, pot-bellied, and stuck in the sweater vest and khakis dress code from the last century. 

Jaehyun’s eyes follow a tall dark-haired guy who is climbing up the steps closer and closer to him.

_Please, stop._

The guy, who has his air-pods in, decides to sit exactly in front of Jaehyun. His big gray _Thrashers_ hoodie seems to deflate with him as he settles into the seat. 

_Are you fucking kidding me._

Jaehyun glares at the back of the guy’s head and counts to ten before he slumps back in his seat. It’s only 8 weeks, not an entire semester. This is fine. Only the bottom quarter of the projector screen is covered by the clump of dyed black hair. 

Jaehyun stiffens as the hair begins to move, and the guy turns to look at him. His eyes look vaguely red and Jaehyun decides to cut him some slack. If his roommate hadn’t broken his wax pen, Jaehyun would’ve taken a few hits before class too.

“Hey,” the guy says. “I’m Johnny.”

“I’m Jaehyun,” Jaehyun replies.

But Johnny just blinks at him lazily. Jaehyun makes a vague gesture to Johnny’s ears and Johnny pulls out an air-pod, wheezing a laugh.

“Ah, sorry, what’d you say?”

“Jaehyun. My name is Jaehyun.”

“Cool, cool. What’s your sign?”

“My what?”

Johnny looks around before turning back to Jaehyun as if he’s telling him a secret. “Like, your zodiac sign.” He leans in closer. “I’m an Aquarius.”

After a moment he responds, “I’m an Aquarius too.”

Johnny smiles and nods as if satisfied with that answer. “I think we’re gonna be good friends.”

“Oh, I’m not—“

But Jaehyun is cut off by the feedback of the microphone from the professor’s podium. A bright blue screen flashes onto the projector before switching to a powerpoint.

“Comic sans?” Johnny says, not so quietly. Probably because both of his air-pods are in again. “This’ll be a rough class.”

A shrill shush snaps Jaehyun’s attention to the right side of the room. A tall, skinny boy with black hair in a purple shirt has a finger raised to his lips. He glares at Johnny before returning his attention back to the professor. But Jaehyun’s focus shifts to the equally tall, skinny boy with blonde hair next to the shusher, who is staring intensely at Jaehyun. As their gazes lock, the blonde boy looks away. 

Jaehyun can’t help but notice how he’s sitting perfectly straight. Jaehyun doesn’t recall if he’s seen anyone sit that straight unless they were wearing a back brace for scoliosis. Jaehyun looks away before it starts to get weird, he was already looking too long anyway. The professor taps his keyboard and brings up a ‘Welcome!’ slide. 

“Welcome to Philosophy 101!” The professor says cheerfully. His voice echoes from the speakers in the back. “I’m Professor Lee. Now, before we get started, I will do roll call.” He clears his throat and begins to list names.

“Bae Irene?” A hand raises.

“Choi Sooyoung?” Another hand raises.

“Jung Jaehyun?” Jaehyun raises his hand. 

From his peripheral vision, he can see the blonde haired boy shift.

A string of Kims are called.

“Kim Doyoung?” The black-haired shusher raises his hand, followed by a ‘here.’ 

A few more Kims are called before…

“Kim Jungwoo?”

The blonde haired boy raises a hand and straightens even more.

_Kim Jungwoo_.

Jungwoo looks in Jaehyun’s direction before Jaehyun realizes he was looking. He pretends to swat away a fly before looking back to the front. Johnny is looking at him.

“You good?”

“Yeah. Super.” Jaehyun whispers back.

“Johnny Suh?” The professor calls. Jaehyun kicks the back of Johnny’s chair and Johnny turns around, raising a hand and shouting ‘here.’

“And finally, Jackson Wang?” A guy on the far right of the room raises a hand. The professor sets down his clipboard and presses another key on his keyboard.

“This is an exercise I like to do before we dive into the syllabus,” Professor Lee explains, gesturing to the several headshots in terrible quality on the powerpoint slide. “How many of you know Socrates?”

A few hands go up.

“Plato? Aristotle? Confucius?”

Scattered hands for those. Jaehyun has heard all of these names and more. He’s gone over philosophers before in a history class. 

“Now,” Professor Lee continues, “those are the more well-known philosophers. Could anyone offer any other names?”

After a moment of silence as no one moves, Johnny raises his hand.

“Jesus Christ?” 

That got a few giggles around the room.

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Professor Lee says. “Jesus could technically be a philosopher if you think about it.”

“David Hume,” chimes in Doyoung.

“Yes, good. Good,” Professor Lee says with a smile.

Jaehyun decides to chip in too. There may be participation points after all. “Marcus Aurelius?” Someone sighs loudly, and Jaehyun turns to see Jungwoo rolling his eyes and clicking his mechanical pen against his notebook. 

_ What's his deal? _

“Oh, great example! Tell me more.”

“Oh, um.” Jaehyun turns back to the professor. “Well, he was a Roman emperor.”

“Was he the one who got stabbed?” Johnny asks.

“No, that’s Julius Caesar,” Jungwoo interjects.

Jaehyun looks at Jungwoo, who holds his gaze steadily. There's something cold, but also something else Jaehyun can't quite place. 

“What does salad dressing have to do with Romans?” Johnny looks visibly confused and still very high.

“No, Julius Caesar was a Roman emperor,” Jaehyun explains. “The salad dressing was actually named after its creator, Caesar Cardini.”

“Aren’t they all Italian?” Johnny furrows his brows.

“I mean…” Jaehyun trails off. 

“Oh my god,” Doyoung breathes.

“Marcus Aurelius focused on Stoicism,” Jungwoo pipes up, looking back to the professor.

“Good, good.” Professor Lee nods, quickly switching to another slide. “Now, we will be going over the key philosophers you have all mentioned, including lesser known philosophers that are equally as important. To give you an idea of our timeline, our last unit will be on Karl Marx and Frederick Nietzsche." He pauses. "Do any of you know Nietzsche’s most famous line?”

“‘God is dead.’”

Jaehyun and Jungwoo quickly look at each other. Their unison voices echo eerily in the lecture room and for once Jaehyun wishes he hadn’t shown off. 

“Correct,” Professor Lee says, looking between Jaehyun and Jungwoo.

Jungwoo only glares back before facing the front of again, his posture now annoying. How could someone sit like that and be comfortable? Jaehyun shakes his head and focuses back on the projected screen of the terribly designed powerpoint as the professor moves on.

. . .

After a grueling hour and a half of going through the syllabus, they are granted a fifteen minute break. Johnny had asked Jaehyun to accompany him to the vending machines, which he agreed to since he didn’t even know where they were in the first place.

Now, Jaehyun watches Johnny count his loose change so he can get flaming hot Cheetos, his wax pen in his mouth. Once Johnny has the right amount, he starts punching in his order. Jaehyun leans back against the wall, his wallet in his hand.

The door opens to the small room and Jungwoo and Doyoung enter. Now that they’re standing, Jaehyun realizes how tall Jungwoo actually is. His yellowish-striped shirt hangs off his frame. Jungwoo and Doyoung’s more colorful wardrobe clashes with Jaehyun’s all-black outfit and Johnny’s gray and white outfit.

Johnny stands up from his squat in front of the vending machine, opening his bag of Cheetos and freezes when he sees the new pair that walked in. He takes his pen out of his mouth and points a finger at Doyoung.

“You shushed me,” Johnny says.

Doyoung blinks. “I did, yes.”

“Well, next time can you mind your own business?”

“Could you please move so we can use the vending machine?”

Johnny turns around and glances at its contents before turning back around. “If you wanted to get hot Cheetos, I just took the last one.” He proceeds to bite into a Cheeto. Jaehyun stifles a laugh.

“But he hasn’t gotten anything yet,” Jungwoo says. Jaehyun watches as Jungwoo steps closer to him and grabs his wallet. “Here, allow me.”

“Hey, wait, the fuck—“ Jaehyun stammers as he realizes what's happening. Johnny steps aside as Jungwoo feeds in the money. 

“Relax, punch in your number first.”

Jaehyun looks at Jungwoo, who only smiles back. It’s closed lipped and makes Jungwoo's large eyes crinkle softly. Confused, Jaehyun punches in the number for the Doritos.

“Funny, I was getting Doritos too.” Jungwoo punches in the same number. As the bags bounce to the bottom, Jungwoo bends down and collects the bags, handing back Jaehyun’s wallet and one of the Dorito bags. 

The loud clatter of coins draws their attention. “Keep the change,” Jungwoo says and walks out with Doyoung before Jaehyun can say anything.

Johnny crunches loudly on a Cheeto. “Well that was weird.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

Johnny gestures to the door with his pen. “He owes you $1.75.”

“Who just takes someone’s wallet to buy themselves something? Then gives it back?”

Johnny shrugs. “Apparently he does.” 

Jaehyun sighs and goes through his wallet but nothing else was taken. He goes back to the machine and scoops out the change left behind.

“Hey, do you have any baby wipes?” Johnny asks, wiggling his red-stained fingers.

Jaehyun stands up and blinks at him. “No. No I don’t, Johnny.”

“Do you want a hit?” He offers the pen and Jaehyun accepts without a word.

. . .

Jaehyun stares at his unopened bag of Doritos in front of him. The professor is talking about something but Jaehyun is still trying to figure out how he had just…let Jungwoo do that. His reaction was delayed and he did nothing to fight back. That smile had been a bit disarming, he admits. Whatever had happened, Jaehyun swore it would never happen again.

“…so pass the hat around and only draw one.”

Jaehyun sits up and taps Johnny’s shoulder. “What are we doing?” He whispers.

“We’re picking partners for the final.”

“Wait, we’re doing _what_ for the final?”

“It’s like, we draw philosopher names and then he pairs us up.”

“So we can’t pick who we want to work with ourselves?”

“Yeah.”

“Fuck me,” Jaehyun slumps back in his seat, dragging a hand through his hair. He watches the navy blue fedora snake its way around the room before it gets to Johnny, who grabs a slim piece of paper before passing it onto Jaehyun. He grabs a piece of paper and gets up, handing it across the aisle to Doyoung.

When Jaehyun sits back down, he unfolds the paper.

_Rene Descartes_.

When he looks up, he sees that the hat is already to the front again and is handed back to the professor.

“Alright everyone. On the back of each slip there is a colored dot. Pair up with the person who has the same color as you,” Professor Lee explains. 

Jaehyun sees his has a red dot on the back. Everyone else is getting up, holding up their paper to show the color, so Jaehyun follows suit. As he walks down the steps, he doesn’t see anyone else with red. He turns around to look at those in the back and his heart nearly stops.

He sees another red dot. 

Jungwoo walks down the steps to Jaehyun, pausing on a step in front of him so he is looking down at Jaehyun.

“So, partner. Who do you have?”

“Descartes,” Jaehyun tries to keep his tone even.

“Hume,” Jungwoo muses. 

He eyes Jaehyun up and down before extending a hand. Jaehyun looks at him with a raised brow, but pulls out his phone and hands it over. Jungwoo types in his number and hands it back.

“Text me when you want to meet up for the project,” Jungwoo says. “I think we’re on the same page that this sucks. But you look like a smart guy, so this might not be a train wreck after all. I want to have it done early, and the sooner we start the easier this’ll be for both of us.” 

Before Jaehyun could even get a word in, Jungwoo is already heading back to his seat. Jaehyun looks down at his new contact “Kim Jungwoo” and pockets his phone. Sitting back in his seat, Johnny turns to him.

“I think the universe is pulling a prank on us,” Johnny says.

“Oh, you think?” 

Johnny motions with his head. “I got paired with Doyoung and you got Jungwoo.”

“Well, shit.”

“Here,” Johnny hands Jaehyun his phone. “We might need each other so we don’t die from frustration.”

Jaehyun smiles as he puts in his number in Johnny’s phone and texts himself to save Johnny’s number. A phone alarm goes off in the room, and scrapes of backpacks and notebooks are heard as everyone prepares to leave. 

“Don’t forget to go over the first reading for next class! See you all on Wednesday!” Professor Lee calls out as he snaps his briefcase and shuts down his computer. Jaehyun tails Johnny as they leave and head out to the parking lot. Turns out, Johnny is also going to school overseas in Chicago, while Jaehyun is in New York. They talk about adjusting to Korea as they head to their cars.

“Well, see ya next class,” Johnny calls, walking away from Jaehyun’s car.

Jaehyun waves as he walks away. Getting into his car, he gets a text. Jaehyun smiles.

'Hey, you busy tomorrow?'

'Nope! My classes only meet twice a week.'

'See you tomorrow morning loser, I’m picking you up >:D'

'How early should I wake up?'

'4 AM bitch.'

'Bet.'

'Have your pants on by 9.'

'Aight.'

Jaehyun mutes his phone and backs out of the parking lot. As he waits at the stop sign, he sees an already familiar blonde haired boy in the rearview mirror walking to the opposite side of the lot. Jaehyun turns on his blinker and turns left.

. . . 


	2. Telos

The rapid honking of the car at 9:30 AM didn’t cease as Jaehyun locked his front door. It’s a cloudy morning, but the humidity is already making him want to sweat. 

“Are you ready for the best homecoming of your fucking life?” Yuta shouts, leaning against his car. His hair is dyed orange now, and he’s much tanner than the last time Jaehyun saw him. He’s got a denim jacket over a loose black shirt, black jeans, and what looked like heeled boots. Jaehyun had missed his rockstar style. 

“It’s not a homecoming without my best friend,” Jaehyun says as he pulls Yuta into a tight hug. “Love the new hair too,” he adds when they break away. 

“Thanks, I’m growing it out,” Yuta says with a shrug before sliding into the driver’s seat. Jaehyun gets in the car and buckles up.

“So, where are you taking me?” Jaehyun asks. He can’t help but beam at Yuta, whose smile is always so infectious. 

“Oh, only the finest dining for you.” Yuta flashes him a grin and puts on his sunglasses, backing out of Jaehyun’s driveway and curling onto the road.

. . .  
Jaehyun digs into his Big Mac and Yuta hums happily as he bites into chicken nuggets. They sit by the window in a half-empty McDonalds, watching the busy street outside, like the good old days back in high school.

“I’m glad you don’t have any plans today,” Yuta says, licking his fingers clean. “I have quite the itinerary.” he grabs a fry and points with it at Jaehyun across from him. “You are in for a hell of a night.”

Jaehyun leans forward and bites the french fry, and Yuta slaps his head lightly in retaliation. “As long as you’re driving,” Jaehyun grins.

Yuta eats another chicken nugget before switching topics. “So, how is that philosophy class so far?”

Jaehyun’s smile falters only slightly, and he begins folding the paper of his straw until it’s a small square. “I mean, we just had the first day. But I did meet some…interesting people.”

“Oh?” Yuta says around a mouthful of chicken. “Anyone I might know?”

“Probably not. I met this guy named Johnny. He goes to college in the States too.”

“Oh? Making friends now, are we?” Yuta takes a sip from his drink.

“I wasn’t planning on making friends but he’s cool.” Jaehyun taps a finger against the table. Was it worth asking? Jaehyun bites the inside of his cheek before he decides to bring it up. “Actually, Yuta, do you know anyone named Kim Doyoung?”

Yuta has his head down over his food, but he looks up with raised eyebrows. “Kim Doyoung?” He glances to the side, as if searching through his memories, but then shakes his head. “Nah, doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Okay, well,” Jaehyun sighs, “how about a Kim Jungwoo?”

At the name, Yuta sits up, his large eyes seemingly getting bigger. “Jungwoo?”

Jaehyun blinks, surprised. “Yeah, do you know him?”

“Yeah, really tall skinny kid and a soft voice?”

“Oh my god.”

“We used to play soccer together in high school when I did recreational for a season,” Yuta explains. “He didn’t talk much but was really aggressive on the soccer field.” Yuta takes a sip from his drink but looks away, contemplating something. “It’s always the quiet ones…”

“Yeah, well, Jungwoo and I are assigned partners for our final project.” Jaehyun shoves some fries in his mouth.

Yuta squints at him. “You look annoyed, why are you annoyed?”

“I don’t know, he gives me weird vibes.”

“Did something happen?” Yuta leans forward, a glint in his eye and Jaehyun knew Yuta would not move on until Jaehyun gives him some gossip. 

Jaehyun crosses his arms and leans back in his plastic chair. “Something about him pisses me off.”

Yuta deflates in his seat. “Oh.”

“Oh what?”

“I was kind of hoping you guys, like, threw hands at each other or something.” he gets up and starts collecting his trash. 

Jaehyun watches him for a moment. “Were you friends with Jungwoo?”

Yuta pauses before reaching over and grabbing Jaehyun’s trash. “No, I wouldn’t say we were friends.”

Jaehyun nods, tucking that information away. 

“But,” Yuta adds on. “He was a good player. I respected him.” He grabs both of their trays as well. “If you’re worried about him messing up the final, I don’t think you need to be.”

Jaehyun looks out the window, watching the people cross and interweave through each other on the crosswalk. There was always that reminder that the world is a lot smaller than it seems. Jungwoo and Yuta knew each other.

Jaehyun doesn’t believe in fate. It’s a nice sentiment, he thinks, and can align well within religions. He is definitely open to ideas, that there might be a higher power than humans, but he was not the religious type and preferred concrete ideas with proof over theories and stories. But there was something unsettling about Jungwoo, something that felt out of place from things that are common place within Jaehyun’s world. Jungwoo had thrown him off balance, catching him off guard, and that was just the first encounter.

“Hey,” Yuta says, patting Jaehyun’s shoulder, stirring him out of his thoughts. “C’mon, our adventure awaits!”

. . .

Yuta dragged Jaehyun to the arcade where they hogged the basketball game and air hockey table before they chilled out at a cat cafe and drank tea before they were kicked out for closing. Now, Yuta pulls into the parking lot of an unfamiliar area of downtown. Yuta tosses his parking receipt onto the dashboard before getting out. Jaehyun follows Yuta to street level and they cross over to what looked like a bar. The teal neon sign contrasts with the deep blood orange sky. 

“We’ve never been here before,” Jaehyun remarks, trying to peek through the slightly tinted windows. 

Yuta’s smiles crookedly as he opens the door for Jaehyun. “But I have. And I think you’re going to love it.”

The music that was pounding against the doors now wash over them as they enter and are greeted by a tall drag queen with bright pink hair. Jaehyun isn’t new to this scene. He has been to a few gay bars with Yuta, encountered all kinds of people who have tried their best to ask Jaehyun to leave with them, but only one had ever succeeded. But that didn’t end very well. 

But this would be Jaehyun’s first drag queen bar. He looks to Yuta, who already shrugged off his denim jacket, chatting with the hostess who appeared to be on first name basis.

Yuta grabs Jaehyun’s arm and yanks him closer.

“This is Jaehyun, and unfortunately he is very single.”

“Oh, now the hell did that happen?” The drag queen taps a long acrylic nail against her chin, looking Jaehyun up and down in a very calculated manner. “Yuta doll, how are you two not together?”

Yuta scoffed. “You don’t think I’ve tried? Rejected, freshman year of high school.”

Jaehyun winces at the memory of Yuta’s confession that would eventually lead to the development of an awkward friendship that became one of Jaehyun’s strongest bonds with another human. Yuta has even called Jaehyun his soulmate before.

The drag queen clicks her tongue in clear dismay. She gives both of them a look and shakes her head before grabbing two menus. “Alright doll, but you better come back with a boy and a ring so I can shut this whole place down just for you.”

The drag queen stops suddenly and turns to Jaehyun, her long earrings swinging. 

“My god, where are my manners. The name is Paris, darling. Now you just let me know whatever you need and I will be there.” She winks at him before placing their menus on their table. As they sit down, Jaehyun takes another look around. 

It’s a typical half-bar half-restaurant, but not family friendly. There are stripper poles scattered around, but the dancers are absent. There is a slightly elevated stage in the middle of the restaurant space, and a catwalk that ends where their table is located. It’s not completely dark, but the black light illuminates the neon lanterns that are strung around the walls and ceiling. At the back of the stage, Jaehyun spots a beaded curtain and shadows moving behind it.

“Dude, how and when did you find this place?” This was definitely not something Yuta has brought up before. And it seemed like he has been coming here for awhile.

Yuta pushes his hair back and looks away, as if recollecting his thoughts. “Last winter break, when you stayed in New York and I came back to Korea.”

Jaehyun squints, shuffling through his own memories. “Was it before or after you broke up with Sicheng?”

“After, after,” Yuta waves his hand dismissively. “Well, I was still heartbroken and needed time to heal and well…I may have binge watched all of Rupaul’s Drag Race with Ten.”

“Wait, Ten!? As in your high school arch nemesis? That Ten!?”

Yuta sucks in a breath through his teeth, rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s right, I never told you. We sort of had a…drunken heart-to-heart guys’ night. We were really drunk. Like, really fucking drunk. We ran into each other at a bar and was also going through something. We crashed at his place after where I cried like a baby in his kitchen.” Yuta looks down at the table, his mouth a hard line. His eyes snap up. “That was actually how I found this place. Ten eventually he asked me to meet him here one night.”

“For the drag queens?”

“Well, yeah, but he works here too.” Yuta smiles. “And puts on a hell of a show.” 

Jaehyun leans forward, eyes wide. “Ten is a drag queen?”

Yuta nods excitedly. “He’s performing tonight.”

“Wait, wait,” Jaehyun shakes his head. “So are you two like…friends now?”

“It’s…a weird friendship yeah,” but Yuta looks off to the side. “We’ll put a pin in this conversation.”

Loud feedback from the mic sounds as the music dies down and a different drag queen walks out onto the stage under a spotlight.

“GOOD EVENING, BITCHESSS,” she says. “For all of you new bloods in the crowd, I’m Fyona, and Tuesday nights are reserved for our Lady of the Night Lip Sync Battle!” She sang the last three words and Jaehyun winced at how high she went. 

“Are you ready for our first diva?”  
  
Fyona holds out the mic and gestures for everyone to scream. Yuta cups a hand over his mouth and screams, but Jaehyun only claps half-heartedly. Unfortunately, that caught Fyona’s attention and she swaggers down the catwalk, her big blonde curls bouncing as she walks and stops at their table. She turns to Yuta.

“Hey, handsome. What’s your name?” Fyona points the mic to him.

“I’m Yuta.” 

“And what about your boyfriend here?”

He glances at Jaehyun. “This is Jaehyun and we’re not together.”

Fyona squints. “Y’all straight?”

“Hell no.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Fyona smiles. “Well, you two are a pair of fresh faces. New in town?”

“No, we’re not,” Jaehyun piped up, but Fyona was already walking back to the front of the stage.

“Tonight’s performers are a pair of some sexy divas.” The crowd responds with whoops and hollers. “Our first Lady of the Night…Miss Mona Lisa!”

Fyona walks off stage as the spotlight dims and the place grows silent before a music track starts, and the beat of Beyonce’s Partition blasts over the speakers.

Behind the beaded curtains steps out Mona Lisa, and the first thing Jaehyun notices are her thigh-high boots, completely bedazzled in white jewels. She swaggers onto stage, flipping her long hair. Her black leotard is decked out in gold patterns of gems.

As she walked out onto the catwalk, Yuta reached over and grabbed Jaehyun’s forearm, pulling him closer so he could hear him over the music.

“That’s Ten!” Yuta says. 

Jaehyun gawks at Ten performing, dancing to the song impressively in heels and before Jaehyun knows it, it’s over and the crowd is cheering as Ten bows. Paris hands Ten the microphone.

“Thanks everyone for coming out tonight, but I already know I’m the best but I appreciate it,” Ten says. 

“MONAAAA!” Yuta yells over the crowd and Ten turns and smiles brightly as he spots Yuta.

“WHAT’S UP BITCHHHHH! That’s my friend over there.”

Jaehyun was stunned into silence, which is rare. This was really throwing him through a loop. Ten and Yuta had been rivals and sworn enemies all throughout high school and were competitive in every class together. Jaehyun had always tried to play mediator between them but that never stopped the lunch fights that broke out or the fights at the soccer games. 

And now, here they were.

Jaehyun came back to reality as Ten walked offstage and the next performer was called out, but Jaehyun missed the name.

A very tall queen walked out, with long wavy brown hair and a short leather black dress with fishnets. She was really tall, in comparison to Ten, and only had short heels on. She adorned a masquerade mask so Jaehyun could only see her lips. She stood in position as the crowd quieted and Rihanna’s Shut Up and Drive started playing.

“Ay, I love this song,” Yuta elbowed Jaehyun.

“Who is this again?” Jaehyun asked.

“Rose!” Yuta shouted over the music.

Jaehyun turned back to watch Rose strut down the catwalk, lip syncing into the mic. Rose approached a girl recording her and slut dropped, on beat. She kept walking while delivering fan service to other audience members and the crowd was going crazy. 

Eventually, she got to Jaehyun and Yuta’s table. Rose made direct eye contact with Jaehyun and a chill went down his spine. She was close enough that Jaehyun could see her expression shift under her mask.

Did they…know each other?

Rose stepped off of the catwalk and walked right up to Jaehyun, and he started straightening up more in his seat. Yuta hollered and pulled out his phone to record as Rose straddled Jaehyun in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. Jaehyun could feel his ears burning and had no idea what to do. Rose patted his cheek and walked back to the catwalk as the song started to finish.

She curtsied and gave a cheeky smile after her performance.

“Thank you, thank you everyone for coming out tonight. And any of you cute boys wanna find me later just tell dear Paris.”

Yuta laughed, but Jaehyun didn’t. In fact, he was sure his soul left his body. 

That voice. He knew that voice. Oh god, he was gonna lose his last shred of sanity right there.

Rose…could she be Jungwoo? 

. . .

They had stayed to split a meal before Yuta drove Jaehyun home. Jaehyun said nothing the whole ride back, he was scared that he was wrong but if he said it out loud it would actually be right. Yuta could tell something was up but only teased him that it was his first lap dance. Jaehyun had only stated he was exhausted and needed to do the assignment for class the next day.

Jaehyun stood in his driveway and waved at Yuta as he pulled out. The headlights disappeared around the corner and Jaehyun went back inside his apartment. He started heating up leftovers from the other day and opened his laptop to finish the reading for class.

But he was too distracted to stay focused reading. He got up and took out his contact lenses and ate his dinner before trying again. Taking out his reading glasses, though, instead he went through his contacts in his phone.

Kim Jungwoo.

The name stared back at him.

It was barely 11 PM. Maybe he’d still be awake? He ran a hand through his hair before typing out a message.

“hey, it’s Jaehyun. We can meet up after class tomorrow at Starbucks. Does that work for you?”

His thumb hovered the send button before he sighed and sent it. He turned back to his computer and got through hand the chapter before his phone pinged.

“Yeah, that works for me.”

Jaehyun tossed his phone onto the table and went back to reading. Eventually, he checked Yuta’s snapchat story and winced as he saw the clip of him being straddled by Rose.

He decided to take a cold shower before bed.

Tomorrow was gonna be hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is so late i'm so sorry ;; i actually will finish this fic


End file.
